Little Choice but to Hope Tejada Can Handle Job

Tejada, batting Friday against the Cardinals, has gone hitless in three Grapefruit League games as he seeks to secure his role.

Jeff Roberson / Associated Press

By TIM ROHAN

March 9, 2014

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. — Perhaps no Met has been scrutinized more during this year’s spring training than Ruben Tejada.

Ike Davis could make a case, as he battles Lucas Duda for the starting spot at first base. But should Davis falter, the Mets have a backup plan in place in Duda. Should Tejada fail at shortstop, there are no clear alternatives on the roster. So the focus has been on Tejada, his faults and his progress.

“At this moment, Ruben Tejada is the shortstop here,” Mets Manager Terry Collins said last month, and that was before Tejada felt tightness in his hamstring while fielding grounders and missed most of the first full week of Grapefruit League games.

Now that Tejada is healthy, the focus on him will intensify. Only about three weeks are left in spring training — three weeks for the Mets to evaluate Tejada and determine whether he can be their everyday shortstop, or whether a move must be made.

Two seasons ago, Tejada was reliable; he batted .289 in 114 games. But ever since, there has been doubt. Last year, he came to spring training overweight, started the season slowly, strained a quad and was essentially banished to the minor leagues. Soon after he rejoined the team in September, he broke his right fibula.

All the lower-body injuries only fueled the perception that Tejada was lazy and consistently out of shape. General Manager Sandy Alderson said in a radio interview at the time that it was “like pulling teeth” to get him to put in extra work.

During the past off-season, Tejada tried to change that perception. He spent about eight weeks in Plymouth, Mich., training with Mike Barwis, the Mets’ senior adviser for strength and conditioning. Tejada left feeling better about his body, about himself. He had never trained like that before. Barwis had pushed him, and had taken a liking to him.

“You can see it in his eyes,” Barwis said. “He wants to play baseball.”

Still, it is unclear how much Tejada has changed. His coaches do not see much difference in his appearance. They say he has shown more energy, more life. Whether that translates onto the field will be determined over the next three weeks. The Mets have said they do not need Tejada to be spectacular; just competent and consistent.

“We just need him to get on base and turn the lineup over,” said Dave Hudgens, the hitting coach. “He doesn’t have to hit .320. I mean, he’s capable of hitting .270, .280, with a .360 on-base percentage. That’s all we need him to do. He’s definitely capable of it. He’s probably capable of more than that. But that’s what we need him to do.”

Collins said: “We don’t have a lot of options. He’s our main guy right now.”

Stephen Drew is still a free agent. But Scott Boras, his agent, does not seem to be budging. And the Mets, at this point, will sign Drew only if he lowers his price. Tejada is making about $1.1 million this season, and Drew rejected the Boston Red Sox’ qualifying offer — one year for about $14.1 million — to become a free agent. The questions the Mets have been weighing: Is Drew, at a price, that much better than Tejada? And if they were to trade for a shortstop, what kind of asset would they have to give up?

The in-house candidates behind Tejada are not considered to be of starting caliber. Wilmer Flores is not considered quick enough to play the position; Omar Quintanilla is a career backup; and Anthony Seratelli, 31, has never played in the majors.

Of the three, Flores, on paper, would seem to be an intriguing option. He batted .321 and drove in 86 runs in 107 games with Class AAA Las Vegas last year before he was called up in August and was hindered for the rest of the season by ankle injuries.

He is healthy now and in better shape after also working out with Barwis. So Collins has said he will try Flores at shortstop during spring training. Flores had come up as a shortstop, but after making 26 errors in 2010 and 20 in 2011, he was moved around the infield.

He is tall — about 6 feet 3 inches — and lanky, and is more comfortable playing second base now, though he can also handle first or third.

Shortstop might be the infield position for which he is most ill-suited. But given the Mets’ situation there, they seem to be willing to try anything.

On Friday, in his first game back from injury, Tejada made an error, and there were perhaps one or two more plays he should have made. On Sunday, he went 0 for 2 with a strikeout. He has gone hitless in three Grapefruit League games.

“Everybody’s watching me, in every situation,” Tejada said, as if he were used to it by now. “I don’t feel pressure. I can only work hard and try to do my job.”

INSIDE PITCH

Bobby Parnell, the Mets’ closer, appeared in his first game since having neck surgery in September, pitching the ninth inning of an 8-2 win Sunday over Atlanta. He allowed one hit and one unearned run and struck out one batter.